Etymology

The name Canada comes from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word kanata, meaning "village" or "settlement".[11] In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona.[12] Cartier later used the wordCanada to refer not only to that particular village, but the entire area subject to Donnacona (the chief at Stadacona); by 1545, European books and maps had begun referring to this region as Canada.[12]

Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the legal name for the new country, and the word Dominion was conferred as the country's title.[14] However, as Canada asserted its political autonomy from the United Kingdom, the federal government increasingly used simply Canada on state documents and treaties, a change that was reflected in the renaming of the national holiday from Dominion Day to Canada Day in 1982.[15]

History

Aboriginal peoples

Archaeological studies and genetic analyses have indicated a human presence in the northern Yukon region from 24,500 BC, and in southern Ontariofrom 7500 BC.[16][17][18] The Paleo-Indian archeological sites at Old Crow Flats and Bluefish Caves are two of the oldest sites of human habitation in Canada.[19] The characteristics of Canadian Aboriginal societies included permanent settlements, agriculture, complex societal hierarchies, and trading networks.[20][21] Some of these cultures had collapsed by the time European explorers arrived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, and have only been discovered through archeological investigations.[22]

The aboriginal population at the time of the first European settlements is estimated to have been between 200,000[23] and two million,[24] with a figure of 500,000 accepted by Canada's Royal Commission on Aboriginal Health.[25] As a consequence of the European colonization, Canada's aboriginal peoples suffered from repeated outbreaks of newly introduced infectious diseases such as influenza, measles, and smallpox (to which they had no natural immunity), resulting in a forty- to eighty-percent population decrease in the centuries after the European arrival.[23]Aboriginal peoples in present-day Canada include the First Nations,[26]Inuit,[27] and Métis.[28] The Métis are a mixed-blood people who originated in the mid-17th century when First Nations and Inuit people married European settlers.[29] In general, the Inuit had more limited interaction with European settlers during the colonization period.[30]

European colonization

The first known attempt at European colonization began when Norsemen settled briefly at L'Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland around 1000 AD.[31]No further European exploration occurred until 1497, when Italian seafarer John Cabot explored Canada's Atlantic coast for England.[32]Basque and Portuguese mariners established seasonal whaling and fishing outposts along the Atlantic coast in the early 16th century.[33] In 1534, French explorerJacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence River, where on July 24 he planted a 10-metre (33 ft) cross bearing the words "Long Live the King of France", and took possession of the territory in the name of King Francis I.[34]

The 1783 Treaty of Paris recognized American independence and ceded territories south of the Great Lakes to the United States.[42]New Brunswick was split from Nova Scotia as part of a reorganization of Loyalist settlements in the Maritimes. To accommodate English-speaking Loyalists in Quebec, the Constitutional Act of 1791 divided the province into French-speaking Lower Canada (later Quebec) and English-speaking Upper Canada (later Ontario), granting each its own elected legislative assembly.[43]

The Canadas were the main front in the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain. Following the war, large-scale immigration to Canada from Britain and Ireland began in 1815.[24] Between 1825 and 1846, 626,628 European immigrants reportedly landed at Canadian ports.[45] These includedIrish immigrants escaping the Great Irish Famine as well as Gaelic-speaking Scots displaced by the Highland Clearances.[46] Between one-quarter and one-third of all Europeans who immigrated to Canada before 1891 died of infectious diseases.[23]

Early 20th century

Because Britain still maintained control of Canada's foreign affairs under the Confederation Act, its declaration of war in 1914 automatically brought Canada into World War I. Volunteers sent to the Western Front later became part of the Canadian Corps. The Corps played a substantial role in the Battle of Vimy Ridge and other major engagements of the war.[56] Out of approximately 625,000 Canadians who served in World War I, around 60,000 were killed and another 173,000 were wounded.[57] The Conscription Crisis of 1917 erupted when conservative Prime Minister Robert Borden brought in compulsory military service over the vehement objections of French-speaking Quebecers. The Conscription Crisis, coupled with disputes over French language schools outside Quebec, deeply alienated Francophone Canadians and temporarily split the Liberal Party. Bordon's Unionist government included many Anglophone Liberals, and it swept to a landslide victory in the 1917 elections. In 1919, Canada joined the League of Nations independently of Britain,[56]the 1931 Statute of Westminster affirmed Canada's independence.[3]

Finally, another series of constitutional conferences resulted in the 1982 patriation of Canada's constitution from the United Kingdom, concurrent with the creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.[67] In 1999, Nunavut became Canada's third territory after a series of negotiations with the federal government.[68]

Since 1925, Canada has claimed the portion of the Arctic between 60° and 141°W longitude,[84] but this claim is not universally recognized. Canada is home to the world's northernmost settlement, Canadian Forces Station Alert, on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island – latitude 82.5°N – which lies 817 kilometres (508 mi) from the North Pole.[85] Much of the Canadian Arctic is covered by ice and permafrost. Canada has the longest coastline in the world, with a total length of 202,080 kilometres (125,570 mi);[83] additionally, its border with the United States is the world's longest land border, stretching 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi).[86]

Canada's population density, at 3.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (8.5 /sq mi), is among the lowest in the world. The most densely populated part of the country is the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor, situated in Southern Quebec and Southern Ontario along the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River.[92]

Average winter and summer high temperatures across Canada vary from region to region. Winters can be harsh in many parts of the country, particularly in the interior and Prairie provinces, which experience a continental climate, where daily average temperatures are near −15 °C (5 °F), but can drop below −40 °C (−40 °F) with severewind chills.[93] In noncoastal regions, snow can cover the ground for almost six months of the year, while in parts of the north snow can persist year-round. Coastal British Columbia has a temperate climate, with a mild and rainy winter. On the east and west coasts, average high temperatures are generally in the low 20s °C (70s °F), while between the coasts, the average summer high temperature ranges from 25 to 30 °C (77 to 86 °F), with temperatures in some interior locations occasionally exceeding 40 °C (104 °F).[94]

Canada's federal structure divides government responsibilities between the federal government and the ten provinces. Provincial legislatures areunicameral and operate in parliamentary fashion similar to the House of Commons.[102] Canada's three territories also have legislatures, but these are not sovereign and have fewer constitutional responsibilities than the provinces.[108] The territorial legislatures also differ structurally from their provincial counterparts.[109]

Law

The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of the country, and consists of written text and unwritten conventions. The Constitution Act, 1867 (known as the British North America Act prior to 1982), affirmed governance based on parliamentary precedent and divided powers between the federal and provincial governments. The Statute of Westminster 1931 granted full autonomy and theConstitution Act, 1982, ended all legislative ties to the UK, as well as adding a constitutional amending formula and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter guarantees basic rights and freedoms that usually cannot be over-ridden by any government—though a notwithstanding clause allows the federal parliament and provincial legislatures to override certain sections of the Charter for a period of five years.[110]

Canada's judiciary plays an important role in interpreting laws and has the power to strike down Acts of Parliament that violate the constitution. The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court and final arbiter and has been led since 2000 by the Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin (the first female Chief Justice).[115] Its nine members are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister and minister of justice. All judges at the superior and appellate levels are appointed after consultation with nongovernmental legal bodies. The federal Cabinet also appoints justices to superior courts in the provincial and territorial jurisdictions.[116]

Common law prevails everywhere except in Quebec, where civil law predominates. Criminal law is solely a federal responsibility and is uniform throughout Canada.[117] Law enforcement, including criminal courts, is officially a provincial responsibility, conducted by provincial and municipal police forces.[118] However, in most rural areas and some urban areas, policing responsibilities are contracted to the federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police.[119]

Canada and the United States share the world's longest undefended border, co-operate on military campaigns and exercises, and are each other's largest trading partner.[122] Canada nevertheless has an independent foreign policy, most notably maintaining full relations with Cuba and declining to officially participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Canada also maintains historic ties to the United Kingdom and France and to other former British and French colonies through Canada's membership in the Commonwealth of Nations and the Francophonie.[123] Canada is noted for having a positiverelationship with the Netherlands, owing, in part, to its contribution to the Dutch liberation during World War II.[60]

Canada's strong attachment to the British Empire and Commonwealth led to major participation in British military efforts in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. Since then, Canada has been an advocate for multilateralism, making efforts to resolve global issues in collaboration with other nations.[124][125] Canada was a founding member of the United Nations in 1945 and of NATO in 1949. During the Cold War, Canada was a major contributor to UN forces in the Korean War and founded the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in co-operation with the United States to defend against potential aerial attacks from the Soviet Union.[126]

During the Suez Crisis of 1956, future Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson eased tensions by proposing the inception of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force, for which he was awarded the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize.[127] As this was the first UN peacekeeping mission, Pearson is often credited as the inventor of the concept. Canada has since served in 50 peacekeeping missions, including every UN peacekeeping effort until 1989,[56] and has since maintained forces in international missions in Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, and elsewhere; Canada has sometimes faced controversy over its involvement in foreign countries, notably in the 1993 Somalia Affair.[128]

In February 2007, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Russia announced their joint commitment to a $1.5-billion project to help develop vaccines for developing nations, and called on other countries to join them.[133] In August 2007, Canada's territorial claims in the Arctic were challenged after a Russian underwater expedition to the North Pole; Canada has considered that area to be sovereign territory since 1925.[134] Between March and October 2011, Canadian forces participated in a UN-mandated NATO intervention into the 2011 Libyan civil war.[135]

Provinces and territories

Canada is a federation composed of ten provinces and three territories. In turn, these may be grouped into four main regions: Western Canada, Central Canada, Atlantic Canada, and Northern Canada ("Eastern Canada" refers to Central Canada and Atlantic Canada together). Provinces have more autonomy than territories, having responsibility for social programs such as health care,education, and welfare. Together, the provinces collect more revenue than the federal government, an almost unique structure among federations in the world. Using its spending powers, the federal government can initiate national policies in provincial areas, such as the Canada Health Act; the provinces can opt out of these, but rarely do so in practice. Equalization payments are made by the federal government to ensure that reasonably uniform standards of services and taxation are kept between the richer and poorer provinces.[136]

A clickable map of Canada exhibiting its ten provinces and three territories, and their capitals.

Since the early 20th century, the growth of Canada's manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy to an urbanized, industrial one. Like many other First World nations, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs about three-quarters of the country's workforce.[143]However, Canada is unusual among developed countries in the importance of its primary sector, in which the logging and petroleum industries are two of the most prominent components.[144]

Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy.[145] Atlantic Canada possesses vast offshore deposits of natural gas, and Alberta also hosts large oil and gas resources. The vastness of the Athabasca oil sands and other assets results in Canada having 13% of the global oil reserves, the world's third-largest, after Venezuela and Saudi Arabia.[146]Canada is additionally one of the world's largest suppliers of agricultural products; the Canadian Prairies are one of the most important global producers of wheat, canola, and other grains.[147] TheMinistry of Natural Resources in Canada provides statistics regarding their major exports, zinc and uranium, and is a leading exporter of many other minerals, such as gold, nickel, aluminum,steel, iron ore, Coking Coal, and lead.[145][148][149] Many towns in northern Canada, where agriculture is difficult, are sustainable because of nearby mines or sources of timber. Canada also has a sizeable manufacturing sector centred in southern Ontario and Quebec, with automobiles and aeronautics representing particularly important industries.[150]

The global financial crisis of 2008 caused a major recession, which led to a significant rise in unemployment in Canada.[154] By October 2009, Canada's national unemployment rate had reached 8.6 percent, with provincial unemployment rates varying from a low of 5.8 percent in Manitoba to a high of 17 percent in Newfoundland and Labrador.[155] Between October 2008 and October 2010, the Canadian labour market lost 162,000 full-time jobs and a total of 224,000 permanent jobs.[156]Canada's federal debt was estimated to total $566.7 billion for the fiscal year 2010–11, up from $463.7 billion in 2008–09.[157] In addition, Canada's net foreign debt rose by $41 billion to $194 billion in the first quarter of 2010.[158] However, Canada's regulated banking sector (comparatively conservative among G8 nations), the federal government's pre-crisis budgetary surpluses, and its long-term policies of lowering the national debt, resulted in a less severe recession compared to other G8 nations.[159] As of 2013, the majority of the Canadian economy has stabilized, although the country remains troubled by slow growth, sensitivity to the Eurozone crisis and higher-than-normal unemployment rates.[6][160][161][162][163] The federal government and many Canadian industries have also started to expand trade with emerging Asian markets, in an attempt to diversify exports; in 2011, Asia was Canada's second-largest export market, after the United States.[164][165]Widely debated oil pipeline proposals, in particular, are hoped to increase exports of Canadian oil reserves to China.[166][167]

Science and technology

In 2011, Canada spent approximately C$29.9 billion on domestic research and development.[168] As of 2012, the country has produced fourteen Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry and medicine,[169] and was ranked fourth worldwide for scientific research quality in a major 2012 survey of international scientists.[170] It is additionally home to a number of global technology firms.[171] Canada ranks seventeenth in the world for Internet users as a proportion of the population, with over 28.4 million users, equivalent to around 83 percent of its total 2012 population.[172]

Demographics

The 2011 Canadian census counted a total population of 33,476,688, an increase of around 5.9 percent over the 2006 figure.[177][178] By December 2012, Statistics Canada reported a population of over 35 million, signifying the fastest growth rate of any G8 nation.[179] Between 1990 and 2008, the population increased by 5.6 million, equivalent to 20.4 percent overall growth. The main drivers of population growth are immigration and, to a lesser extent, natural growth.

Map of the dominant self-identified ethnic origins of ancestors per census division of 2006.

Canadian

English

French

Scottish

German

Italian

First Nations

Ukrainian

East Indian

Inuit

About four-fifths of the population lives within 150 kilometres (93 mi) of the United States border.[180] Approximately 80 percent of Canadians live in urban areas concentrated in the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor, the British Columbia Lower Mainland, and the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor in Alberta.[181] Canada spans latitudinally from the 83rd parallel north to the 41st parallel north, and approximately 95% of the population is found below the 55th parallel north. In common with many other developed countries, Canada is experiencing ademographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. In 2006, the average age was 39.5 years;[182] by 2011, it had risen to approximately 39.9 years.[183] As of 2013, the average life expectancy for Canadians is 81 years.[9]

Canada's aboriginal population is growing at almost twice the national rate, and four percent of Canada's population claimed aboriginal identity in 2006. Another 16.2 percent of the population belonged to a non-aboriginal visible minority.[186] The largest visible minority groups are South Asian (4.0%), Chinese (3.9%) and Black (2.5%). Between 2001 and 2006, the visible minority population rose by 27.2 percent.[187] In 1961, less than two percent of Canada's population (about 300,000 people) could be classified as belonging to a visible minority group, and less than one percent as aboriginal.[188] By 2007, almost one in five (19.8%) were foreign-born, with nearly 60 percent of new immigrants coming from Asia (including the Middle East).[189] The leading sources of immigrants to Canada were China, the Philippines and India.[190] According to Statistics Canada, visible minority groups could account for a third of the Canadian population by 2031.[191]

Canadian provinces and territories are responsible for education. The mandatory school age ranges between 5–7 to 16–18 years,[201] contributing to an adult literacy rate of 99 percent.[83] As of 2011, 88 percent of adults aged 25 to 64 have earned the equivalent of a high-school degree, compared to an OECD average of 74 percent.[202] In 2002, 43 percent of Canadians aged 25 to 64 possessed a post-secondary education; for those aged 25 to 34, the rate of post-secondary education reached 51 percent.[203] According to a 2012 NBC report, Canada is the most educated country in the world.[204] The Programme for International Student Assessment indicates that Canadian students perform well above the OECD average, particularly in mathematics, science, and reading.[205][206]

English and French are the first languages of 59.7 and 23.2 percent of the population respectively. Approximately 98 percent of Canadians speak English or French: 57.8 percent speak English only, 22.1 percent speak French only, and 17.4 percent speak both.[207] The English and French official-language communities, defined by the first official language spoken, constitute 73.0 and 23.6 percent of the population respectively.[209]

The 1977 Charter of the French Language established French as the official language of Quebec.[210] Although more than 85 percent of French-speaking Canadians live in Quebec, there are substantial Francophone populations in Ontario, Alberta, and southern Manitoba; Ontario has the largest French-speaking population outside Quebec.[211] New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual province, has a French-speaking Acadian minority constituting 33 percent of the population. There are also clusters of Acadians in southwestern Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island, and through central and western Prince Edward Island.[212]

Other provinces have no official languages as such, but French is used as a language of instruction, in courts, and for other government services, in addition to English. Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec allow for both English and French to be spoken in the provincial legislatures, and laws are enacted in both languages. In Ontario, French has some legal status, but is not fully co-official.[213] There are 11 Aboriginal language groups, composed of more than 65 distinct dialects.[214] Of these, only the Cree, Inuktitut and Ojibway languages have a large enough population of fluent speakers to be considered viable to survive in the long term.[215] Several aboriginal languages have official status in the Northwest Territories.[216]Inuktitut is the majority language in Nunavut, and is one of three official languages in the territory.[217]

In 2011, nearly 6.8 million Canadians listed a non-official language as their mother tongue.[218] Some of the most common non-official first languages include Chinese (mainly Cantonese; 1,072,555 first-language speakers), Punjabi (430,705), Spanish (410,670), German (409,200), and Italian (407,490).[219]